At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument is needed.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Good GMOs?

As a left wing nut, I realize I should have a knee-jerk opposition to GMOs. Still, there is this.

Over half the people on the planet eat rice as a staple
food. Growing rice emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas — to the tune of 25
million to 100 million metric tons of methane every year, a notable
contribution to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

As the world’s population grows and needs more food, the
problem is likely to get worse, but genetic engineering could help, a new study
reports. By transferring a barley gene into a rice plant, scientists have
created a new variety of rice that produces less methane while still making
highly starchy, productive seeds. The development of the new rice strain
is described this week in the journal Nature.